Index book-plate



UNITED STAESgFT i NT FFIC NATHAN AMES, OF SAUGUS CENTER, LIASSACHUSETTS,vASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF, AND EDVIN M. MONTAGUE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

INDEX DOORePLATE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 29,430, dated July 31, 1860; Ressued February 11, 1868, No. 2,860.

To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, NATHAN AMES, of Saugus Center, in t-he county of Essex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Index Door-Plate; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a front view; Fig. 2, a similar View with the plate, I, removed; Fig. 8, a horizontal section; and Fig. 4, a top view, showing the slot for receiving plate, I.

Like parts are indicated by the same letters in all the figures.

The nature of' my invention consists, 1st, in the use of a removable plate of ivory, porcelain, slate, or other material capable ofl being written upon with a lead, or slate, pencil and the writing readily expunged, in combination with a suitable frame, or door plate, furnished with a glass protector, G, (Fig. 3), and confining Asaid removable plate by means of a spring-bolt, D, or its equivalent, passing through the door into said plate, so that a person, on leaving his office, studio, room or house, may, if he wishes, write with a pencil on said removable plate, any direction, message, or notice, which he may desire to put there for any length of time, without the danger of its being erased,

altered, defaced, or`taken away, by any person, or cause whatever, outside of the door; 2d, in combination with the above the use of a disk, C, marked with the hours and parts of an hour, as shown in Fig. 2, said disk being confined, in the center, to a spindle, D, which passes through the door, so that it, (the disk), can be turned only by a person inside of the door, it being impossible to change'it, or take it away, on the outer side; and 3d, in the use of spring, S, to answer the double purpose of pressing the end of spindle, D, into a hole in the back of plate, I, and preventing the disk from turning by the jar of the door.

To enable others, skilled in the art, to make and use my invention I will now describe its construction and operation.

B is a thin plate of cast-iron or other suitable material, about inches square, two sides of which, as shown in Fig. 3, have A is the lid, or cover, of cast-iron or other.

suitable material, shaped as seen in Figs. l,

3 and et, and fitting over plate, B, to which it is confined by means of small pins, e c, (Fig. 4). The flange on the top end of A extends only to the removable plate, I, as represented in Fig. l. The bottom flange is also cut away so as to receive the ear b. This cover may be j apanned or ornamented as desired; and the name may be painted on it, as in Fig. l.

G is a plate of thick glass, kept in place by shoulders, 2, and cover, A, as shown in Figs. 3 and el.

I is a plate of ivory, porcelain, slate, or other material capable of being written upon with a pencil and the writing readily expunged, and shaped as shown in Fig. l; z' being a narrow extension of the plate, I, by means of which it is withdrawn by the thumb and finger. This plate, as represented in Fig. l, passes through a slot, and lies between shoulders, 1, and glass, Gr. There is also a small hole, a, (Figs. l and 4l) in the back of this plate, into which hole the end of spindle, D, is pressed by spring S, so that said plate cannot be withdrawn by a person on the outside of the door,-the only means of withdrawing it being to pull,

on the inside of the door, the spindle D, so`

that the end of it shall be out of hole a, when I is free to be removed.

h, (Fig. l) is a hole in the plate, I, through which may be seen, one at a time, any of the hours, or parts of an hour marked upon the rotating disk, C, (Fig. 2) and opposite said hole, to the left, are the words, Return at, permanently attached.

The disk, C, is made of pasteboard, or other suitable material, and attached, at its center, to the end of wire spindle D, and confined by a small pin, (Z, Fig. 2. The end of spindle D, as represented in Fig. 3, is made smaller and projects aboutgof an inch beyond the surface of the disk, so as to enter the hole, a, in I. The length of the spindle is such as to pass through a door and project on the inner side enough to be conveniently turned by the thumb and finger. The hours and parts of an hour can be printed on paper, and the paper pasted to the disk, or they can be marked or attached in any other suitable manner.

S is a spring shaped as seen in Fig. 3, With a hole in the middle of it through which passes freely the spindle D. The object of this spring is to force the end of D into hole ce, so as to confine plate I, and also by pressing the disk against I, prevent it from turning by the jar of opening and shutting the door.

To attach the plate to a door, a hole is bored in the latter sufficiently large for spindle, D, to play through With freedom, When two small screws passing through the ears, b, are all that is requisite. I prefer to have the plate put on a door above the latch, but it may be attached to the middle.

If a person, on leaving his room or house, desires to have it knoWn to callers, When he will return, he has only to grasp the end of spindle, D, between his thumb and finger and turn the disk, C, so that the hour required is seen through hole, 71,. Or if, as is often the case, he Wishes to leave a short' notice or direction stating Where he has gone, Where he may be found, what he Wishes to have done, or anything of the kind,

he can Withdraw plate, I, and Write the same thereon With a pencil, and When the plate is replaced, the Writing can neither be altered, defaced, or taken away (as is obvious from the explanations given above) by any person or cause outside the door.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is.

1. The removable plate, I, of ivory, porcelain, slate, or other material capable of being Written upon with a pencil and the writing readily expunged, in combination with a suitable frame, or door-plate, furnished with a glass protector, Gr, and confining said removable plate by means of a spring-bolt, D, or its equivalent, passing through the door, substantially as set forth and for the objects specified.

2. In combination with the above door plate a rotating disk, C, marked With the hours and parts of an hour, as shown in Fig. 2, said disk being confined, in the center, to a spindle, D, which passes through the door, substantially as, and for the purpose, described.

3. The spring, S, arranged, combined and operating, substantially as described.

NATI-IAN AMES.

lVitnesses 1 L. A. AMES, DANL. A. AMES. 

